Dead Weather Warm Up for MTVU Awards in New York

Posted on Nov 18th 2009 1:00PM by Mike Ayers
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The Dead Weather played a tiny Brooklyn, N.Y. club Tuesday night as a precursor to their taping of the mtvU Woodie Awards. While the TV show will only feature one song, 'Treat Me Like Your Mother,' the band warmed themselves up with a 75-minute set at the cozy Music Hall of Williamsburg. A rigorous touring schedule this past year has proved that Jack White, the guy best known for his wicked guitar licks, can play a drum or two.

With that in mind, the band seems to be evolving in a way that incorporates White into more of the forefront than before. It's not that they're pushing frontwoman Alison Mosshart aside; on the contrary, she's has all the fire of a Robert Plant and Karen O hybrid and delivered a solid, thrashy versions of 'So Far From Your Weapon' and 'Hang You From the Heavens.'

But it became clearer that maybe White wants more than just to be the guy in the back. White and Mosshart shared one mic for vocal duties during the bluesy set closer 'Will There Be Enough Water' but it was the cover of Them's 'You Just Can't Win' where he took over center stage. Guitarist Dean Fertita and bassist Jack Lawrence provided the song's structure and Mosshart sat off to the side, banging on a tambourine, letting White strut back and forth on stage. It was the moment where you could see that as much as he likes the idea of being behind a drum kit, he still likes to take control.

Supposedly a new Dead Weather record is due in 2010 and maybe we'll get more of White outside the drum context. They did preview a few new songs such as 'I Can't Hear You,' where White opted for a drum machine and he joined Fertita and Lawrence on guitar and another called 'No Horse,' which starts with a heavy bass line but ends up with a pop quality to it. Don't think they're going soft though -- if anything, the Brooklyn show proved they're heading down a 'Houses of the Holy' type road.

The mtvU Woodies will air on Dec. 4 at 10PM ET.